Most Commented Stories Tagged: Asia

Updated

12/15/2014 - 10:30am

It's reminiscent of a black-and-white pirate flag and, for some, it conjures up similar feelings of death, destruction, outlaws and violence. Here is our quick explanation of the symbolism of the flag and the meaning of its Arabic phrases.

When Steven Sotloff's friends discovered he was being held captive by ISIS militants, they set out to hide any reference to the fact that he was Jewish and a dual American-Israeli citizen — and succeeded.

A visit to the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza is like a trip into the Twilight Zone. The security precautions and lack of human contact between the Israelis and Palestinians who work there captures the bizarre relationship between the two sides.

Death is expensive. The American casket industry is a $1.5 billion business, leading some families to seek out cheaper options from China. But the Chinese haven't been able to bury the American competition.

Almost 10 years ago, a young Pakistani woman was held down by her mother-in-law while her husband and father-in-law threw acid on her. Some 150 operations later, Bushra Shafi is working as a beautician in a hair salon in Lahore, started by a hairdresser who was moved to help victims of acid attacks when one of them came into her salon and asked simply: "Can you make me beautiful again?"

Public support for Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip has remained strong and steady in Israel. But as the Palestinian death toll reportedly climbed above 1,400 people, divisions within the American Jewish community over the war are becoming more and more clear, says Peter Beinart, author of “The Crisis of Zionism.”

Hiking was never fun for Van Pol when he was a child: It brought back fearful memories of his family's escape from Cambodia and into refugee camps. It wasn't until a high school field trip to a New Hampshire peak that hiking became Van's salvation.

NATO says a Russian invasion of Ukraine is "highly probable." The Ukrainian government says a large convoy of humanitarian aid coming from Russia is just a "Trojan horse." If the humanitarian crisis is indeed a pretext for an invasion, it certainly wouldn't be Moscow's first time.